Why? Extenders. I find them to be hit and miss plus you can't support them as your story is just one of many where the makers goof and it's game over. Our shop can't sell such since clients faulted us for the problems.
What we do see work is getting wired where we can and then for remote spots the usual Access Point or a router (wired) then set as an AP.
Even if your network was perfect you didn't write the delays happened on Netflix and other streaming services. https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/10/16862278/cbs-all-access-star-trek-discovery-streaming-service-analysis noted it was broken for them and there are forums full of chatter about their buggy service.
On top of that I find issue after issue with most Smart TV and BD players. What seems to work better disregarding the networking for the moment is the Roku and Amazon Fire stick or box players. The smart TV and BD player makers are often way behind on getting their software/firmware patched and the performance is sub-par to Roku or Amazon sticks and boxes.
Wish I had better news but expanders are things we won't go near and for smart TVs and BD players we walk in with a Roku/Amazon stick or box to see if that works. For the network we stick to solid solutions like getting things wired and APs where it's called for.
Finally there is one last thing. Be sure the date and time is correct on all network and Smart devices plus test with a Google DNS like 8.8.8.8.
I live in a one-story, ranch-style home, built in 1976. There's approximately 2,600 sq. ft. under-air. My home office is at the southeast corner. The broadband (BlueStream) comes in there through the vendor's gateway. I don't use the gateway's Wi-Fi. I take the signal from the gateway and bring it to my Asus RT-ACRH17 router (NEW) through an standard Ethernet cable. I use the Asus router for the main Wi-Fi signal in our home. However, the router is not at the highest point in the room and the room has 2 mirrored closet doors (covered by sheets).
Using a Netgear hub, I'm able to accommodate all of the hard-wire and Wi-Fi needs through approximately one-half of our home.
Our master bedroom is on the southwest corner of the home. The Wi-Fi signal from the Asus Router, barely makes it beyond our kitchen. However, in our bedroom is a Smart TV, DirecTV master unit/DVR and Blu-Ray DVD player, that all require (the TV can use a Wi-Fi signal) an Ethernet connection.
Over the last few years, I was using an AsusRT-N66R router in the home office and various extenders in an effort to bring a strong signal to the bedroom. The latest extender was the Netgear Nighthawk EX7000, which my research showed, was one of the best available. IT did OK until the recent firmware fiasco the Netgear caused when they, apparently, knowingly, released a buggy firmware update. Thousands of user of the EX7000 found our extender failing miserably. Months have gone by, with more effort by users, than Netgear, to find ways around the problem. As of Monday, May 27th, no corrective firmware has been released by the company. With this problem, I really had no way to get a decent signal to the bedroom. That is when I purchased the new Asus AC Router. (Yes, I'm aware AX is coming, but I'll have to take out two additional mortgages to pay for an AX router!
Since, I subscribed to CBS All Access when the EX7000 was working, I went a few months unable to watch it, as well as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, etc. So, I had to come up with a method of getting a decent signal to the bedroom.
I found that if I moved the Netgear Extender to the living room, on top of a wall unit, it picked up the main Wi-Fi signal being send by the new Asus AC router and re-transmitted it on both channels with a different SSID. I then took my OLD Asus N router, and configured it to be an access point and placed that in the bedroom. I then ran a Cat 6 cable from the Netgear EX7000 to the Asus Access Point. Both the DirecTV box and the TV are hardwired into the access point. Sounds good, right?
The only problem is while watch CBS All Access (but not Nextflix or Amazon Prime Video) there is a frequent delay in the video signal. The delay is approximately 10-20 seconds, then the feed returns...for a short time before it freezes again. So, to watch a 46-minute episode of the new Star Trek series, takes over an hour with these delays.
While I fully understand new mesh systems and "wonderful" they are supposed to be, not all of us can afford to drop $300-$600 for a mesh system plus, I would still need a unit in the bedroom to connect the three units (TV, DirecTV, BlueRay DVD Player) via Ethernet cables.
I would greatly appreciate any advice or other ideas to help with this problem.
Thank you!
SG


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